This vivid, moving and provocative novel presents a story of a whole society caught up in national turmoil, told through the experiences of one family, the Shubins. Their city is Leningrad, and the country Russia, but their story of love and heartbreak is universal. Starting with Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the novel moves both back and forward in time, following three generations of the family as they face the horrors of war, political upheaval, imprisonment and famine. Their experiences are harsh, but their spirit remains undaunted and their family ties unbreakable. The legacy of hardship never quite relaxes its grip, but what endures is their humanity.